BGU’s Prof. Ziv Cojocaru Wins ACUM Prize for Outstanding Musical Composition

Prof. Ziv Cojocaru, composer, scholar, and Head of the Music Division in the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, has been awarded the ACUM Prize for Achievement of the Year in Musical Composition. The prize, named in memory of Menachem Avidom and conferred by the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel (ACUM), was given in recognition of his original work Run! Into the Circles! Run out! in the field of concert music, literature, and poetry.

In its official statement, the prize committee praised the piece for its artistic depth and emotional range. “Ziv Cojocaru’s expansive composition is profoundly impressive,” the jury noted. “He succeeds in crafting a sweeping drama and a richly colored sonic world using a relatively modest instrumental ensemble. The piece is built on a tension between fast, gritty passages marked by stylized rhythmic gestures and slower, softer-toned segments that evoke a sense of mist and mysticism. The motion is relentless—like a nightmarish dream in which the chase nears a climax, only for the climax to dissolve into yet another point of departure. The music conjures vivid visual imagery through a masterful and varied use of instrumental colors. Each part is demanding and rich in sonic potential, with the piano in particular posing exceptional challenges, at times sounding like an entire orchestra.”

A prominent figure in Israel’s musical landscape, Prof. Cojocaru is active in contemporary, classical, and popular music. In addition to his academic role at BGU, he previously served as Head of the Department of Composition and Conducting at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and as Principal Conductor of the Israel Sinfonietta Be’er Sheva. He has conducted numerous recordings in the popular music arena and worked as an arranger, producer, and pianist in collaboration with many of the country’s leading artists. He currently serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion.

Reflecting on the origins of the award-winning composition, Prof. Cojocaru explained that the piece emerged from the emotional turbulence sparked by the events of October 7. “This work expresses the intense emotions that have enveloped me since the outbreak of the war,” he said. “The urgency, the haste, the feeling of fleeing from a storm that has violently descended upon us—it’s a kind of escape that gradually reveals itself to be a never-ending race in circles, until one’s strength is utterly depleted.”

Prof. Sarah Offenberg, Head of the Department of the Arts at BGU, expressed her admiration for the composer’s achievement. “We are proud of Prof. Cojocaru and his creative accomplishments and congratulate him on this well-deserved honor. Without doubt, our students will benefit from exposure to his dynamic creative process, which moves fluidly between concrete musical content and the lived human experience.”